I am going to suggest that my club’s membership director first ask prospective members if all they know about the game of golf is from their Top Golf experience before considering giving them an application.
Not to come off discriminating, but that's not a far-fetched idea. Great, so you go to a Top Golf to learn to hit the golf ball and decide after a period of time you want to graduate to playing real golf without any "real golf" experience. Suppose you're making a good enough yearly income to afford membership at a decent private club or any private club, for that matter. Can the club deny you a golf membership based on lack of experience playing actual course golf? Being a private club, they can do anything within reason. Thus, the answer would be "yes." Should they? I'd argue, yes! The last thing you want at a private club are members with little to no understanding of the rules of golf, proper course etiquette and club rules, i.e. dress codes, do's and don'ts, etc. The latter can learned through a handbook, but understanding the rules of the game and what's proper to do on a golf course and what isn't can only be gained through experience playing. A private club is not the place for that, unless you're a junior member playing with an adult who can teach and educate you on proper course etiquette and the rules of the game. Most juniors learn these things through group and or private lessons at the club. Is Top Golf going to start teaching this to people who frequent their facilities on regular basis before they move on to real golf? I highly doubt it. What scares me, then, is that you'll have this certain segment of golfers coming to public and private courses with little to no understanding of the game that are going to piss proper golfers and members off, not to mention course operators between cart and course abuse.
That said, I don't think you're going to see many Top Golf graduates first experience playing actual course golf taking place at private clubs and courses. I suspect the vast majority will learn the game at public courses and from there determine if private club membership is for them. Of course, there may be exceptions and it will be interesting to see how individual private clubs handle that. But I'm all in favor of denying membership based on lack of actual golf experience.
"a private club is not the place for that"
I'd like to think a private club would only deny membership based on a lack of character, sour personality,insidious or illegal business dealings, reputation etc., or even a lack relatonships with current members...
but not because an otherwise good candidate had only "Top Golf" or limited real golf experience.
It's WAAY easier to teach a (vetted as above)new/non golfer ettiquette and rules of the game than it is to break a long time poor behaver or simply oblivious golfer of bad habits.
I'd say a private club is EXACTLY the place to teach that, and membership could be conditional of a training course which any reasonable candidate would be most appreciative of.
Why not mold an otherwise great candidate into the ideal member, than accept a long time golfer who is uninterested in changing or oblivious to their behavior?
I realize it is not an either/or choice as a club can also deny membership to the poor behaver as well.
and I often see unfixed ballmarks,unraked bunkers and other poor/boorish behavior at the most exclusive of old and new line clubs, from long time silver spooners who grew up in a jr. program at the club.
Give me the good guy/gal novice EVERY time to mold from scratch, especially if the pro was part of the vetting process, and later in the training-which any new golfer would appreciate.